This collection explores foreign policy crises and the way the states/leaders deal with them. Being at the juncture of a highly sensitive political zone, consisting of the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, the Republic of Turkey has been the subject of various foreign policy crises since its foundation. These political, military, economic or humanitarian crises were triggered either by the states themselves or by the NGOs and armed non-state actors.

By examining literature in the field of foreign policy crises literature, this volume scrutinizes some of the most prominent Turkish foreign policy crises. Among these, there are protracted crises such as that of Cyprus and the Aegean Sea; a humanitarian one such as the 1989 migration of the Bulgarian Turks; an NGO-triggered crisis, such as the Mavi Marmara Confrontation; and an ongoing case such as the Syrian civil war. Looking at these crises from various aspects, the text sheds light on whether, or how, the reactions of the Turkish ruling elite change while trying to manage these crises. The book is a timely contribution to literature in the field of Politics and International Relations and will be useful to academics, diplomats and historians interested in foreign policy crises in general and Turkish foreign policy crises in particular.

“Foreign policy crises can be critical turning points in a nation’s history with consequences both nationally and internationally. The contributors to this volume dramatically analyse the how Turkey has addressed such critical occasions in the modern era. They add understanding both to Turkey in world affairs and to our general knowledge of crises as powerful forces of history.”

Professor Charles F. Hermann

Brent Scowcroft Chair of International Policy Studies

Bush School of Government and Public Service

Texas A&M University, USA

“This volume brings together an outstanding team of scholars to produce the definitive treatment of Turkish foreign policy crises. The theorizing is rigorous and the findings are quite important in substantive terms. This excellent and compelling volume will be of interest to scholars who focus on Turkey and also those with more general interests in foreign policy analysis and international relations.”

Professor Patrick James

School of International Relations

Director, Center for International Studies

University of Southern California, USA

“The most important, but also difficult, task in social sciences, and naturally in international relations discipline, is to create some connections between theory and practice, between conceptualising and analysing facts. In this book, various foreign policy experts examine Turkish foreign policy crises and their management strategies in the Republican Era. I think this book is the first academic study on this aspect of the Turkish foreign policy. I would like to congratulate the editors Fuat Aksu and Helin Sarı Ertem and the contributors for their excellent analyses.”

Professor Faruk Sönmezoğlu,

Department of Political Science and International Relations

Istanbul University, Turkey

“This is a very timely and authoritative collection of essays, written by a well-integrated group of seasoned and upcoming academics. Through theoretical conceptualization of the topic and in-depth analyses of several recent and past crises in Turkish foreign policy, the authors shed light on a rather less studied aspect of Turkey and are able, at the same time, to contribute to crisis management literature. The collection, with its well thought out, tightly argued and expertly presented essays, is a refreshing welcome the area of Turkish studies.”

Professor Mustafa Aydın

Department of International Relations

Kadir Has University, Turkey

“This book is an ambitious undertaking to explain crises in Turkish foreign policy, and is unlike many in the Turkish foreign policy scholarship for its conceptually and theoretically informed discussion. Aksu and Ertem‘s collection promises to make significant contributions to the Turkish foreign policy literature and beyond.”

Barış Kesgin

Assistant Professor of Political Science

Director, International Studies Program

Susquehanna University, USA

“The unprecedented number of international crises Turkey has found itself grappling with over the past decade make this an opportune time for a fresh evaluation on how the republic conducts itself in these contexts. Analyzing Foreign Policy Crises in Turkey offers the most comprehensive review on the subject to date, providing an authoritative reference point and framework to understanding the many facets of Turkey’s foreign policy in times of crises.”